Originally Posted by
mklotz
I really wish the Navy had not abandoned the ship naming conventions of WWII - states for battleships, cities for cruisers, fish for submarines, etc.. I'm particularly annoyed by the practice of naming carriers for presidents. IMO, we've never had a president who deserves to have any ship named for him. [I wouldn't mind naming barges after a few of them but that's my limit.]
The Missouri (BB63) is a particularly historic ship and its name should remain singular. The same for all the other Iowa class battleships.
The Iowa (BB61) is now permanently moored as a museum ship here in LA harbor. Unfortunately, when I toured it a few years ago, neither the machine shop or the engine room were open to the public.
It's interesting to me that all the Iowa class ships have been preserved as museums rather than being broken up. Can it be that the Navy thinks there may yet arise more situations where an offshore heavy artillery platform could be useful?